nf4sli7aa raid manual v1.0

7/24/2019 NF4SLI7AA Raid Manual V1.0

1/30

RAID Manual

Edition

V1.0 P/N: 91-187-NF4-7A-0E

Trademarks

All brand or product names mentioned are trademarks or registered trade-

marks of their respective holders.


2/30

NVIDIA RAID ........................................................................................1

RAID Arrays ............................................................................................................... 1

Install Hard Disks ....................................................................................................3

Basic Configuration Instructions ...........................................................................4

Setting Up the BIOS .................................................................................................5

Entering the RAID BIOS Setup ...............................................................................6

NVIDIA RAID Utility Installation ............................................................................ 10

Initializing and Using the Disk Array ................................................................... 13

Using The NVRAIDMAN Utility ............................................................................. 14

Win2K Limitation with Bootable RAID ................................................................ 20

SiIicon 3132 SATA RAID (optional)

Introduction ............................................................................................................ 22

Creating and Deleting RAID Sets ....................................................................... 22

Install W indows 2000/XP with RAID ................................................................... 28

Install RAID Driver................................................................................................. 28

Contents


3/30

1

Summary of RAID Configurations

RAID Arrays

This section describes the following types of RAID arrays that NVIDIA RAID

supports:

RAID 0

RAID 0 defines a disk striping scheme that improves the disk read and write

times for many applications.

RAID 1

RAID 1 defines techniques for mirroring data.

RAID 0+1

RAID 0+1 combines the techniques used in RAID 0 and RAID 1 arrays.

Spanning (JBOD)

JBOD provides a method for combining drives of different sizes into one large

disk.

RAID 5

RAID 5 stripes both data and parity information across three or more drives.

Array

RAID 0

RAID 1

RAID

0+1

JBOD

RAID 5

NVIDIA RAID

Advantages

High data throughput.

100% data

redundancy.

Optimized for both

100% data redun-

dancy and

performance. Allows

spare disks.

Combines and uses

the capacity of odd

size drives.

Fault tolerance and

better utilization of

disk space.

Drawbacks

No fault tolerance.

Requires two drives for

the storage space

of one drive.

Requires two drives for

the storage space

of one drive!the same

as RAID level 1.

Decreases performance

because of the difficulty

in using drivesconcurrently or to opti-

mize drives for different

uses.

Decreased write perfor-

mance due to pari ty

calculations.Requires at

reast three drives.

# Hard Disks

multiple

2

4+

multiple

3+

Fault Tolerance

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes


4/30

2

NVIDIA RAID offers the following additional features:

Free Disk and Dedicated Spare Disk

A Free Disk or Dedicated Disk can be automatically used in case one drive of a fault-

tolerant array fails. NVIDIA RAID defines a fault-tolerant array as either RAID 1 or

RAID 0+1. A free disk can be used by any available fault-tolerant array, while a

dedicated disk can be used only by the array to which it is assigned.

RAID Across PATA and SATA

NVIDIA RAID can span across both Parallel ATA as well as Serial ATA controllers.RAID operations can be performed on Parallel ATA hard drives, Serial ATA hard

drives, or both Parallel and Serial ATA hard drives.

Bootable RAID

NVIDIA RAID can be configured in a way to make it bootable. For example, two hard

drives can be configured as a bootable mirrored RAID array.

RAID on Multiple Disk Controllers

Unlike other RAID solutions that limits the user to a dedicated RAID controller,

NVIDIA RAID software can use a drive on one RAID controller and another drive on

a second RAID controller.

Morphing

Morphing is the ability to convert from one RAID mode to another RAID mode. This

allows the user to upgrade their current disk or array for better performance, higher

security, and increased capacity. More importantly, this is accomplished without

having to go through multiple steps. The morphing feature gives the user an

upgradeable option to manage storage easily.

Hot Plug Array

Hot plug, with respect to RAID, is the ability to add a disk to a system safely and

without causing problems for the RAID software. For example, when a drive in a

mirrored array fails, a user can launch the Hot Plug Array Wizard which instructs the

user as to when a drive can be added safely to the system. As soon as the drive is

added, the user can then finish running the RAID wizard and the drive becomes

useable by the system.


5/30

3

Install Hard Disks

Install SATA hard disks:

STEP 1: Install one SATA hard disk into one drive bay.

STEP 2: Connect one end of the SATA data cable to the motherboard"s one of

SATA connectors.

STEP 3: Connect the other end of the SATA data cable to the SATA hard disk.

STEP 4: Connect the power cable to the SATA hard disk.

STEP 5: Following step 1/2/3/4 to install the other SATA hard disks.

Install Parallel hard disks:

STEP 1: Setting one IDE hard disks as Master/Slave mode.

STEP 2: Install the hard disks into one drive bay.

STEP 3: Connect one end of the IDE cable to the motherboard "s one of IDE

connectors.

STEP 4: Connect the other end of the IDE cable to the IDE hard disk.

STEP 5: Connect the power cable to the IDE hard disk.

STEP 6: Following step 1/2/3/4 to install the other IDE hard disks.


6/30

4

Basic Configuration Instructions

The following are the basic steps for configuring NVIDIA RAID:

Non-Bootable RAID Array

1. Choose the hard disks that are to be RAID enabled in the system BIOS.

2. Specify the RAID level, either Mirroring (RAID 1), Striping (RAID 0), Stripe Mirroring

(RAID 0+1), Spanning (JBOD) , or RAID 5 and create the desired RAID array.

3. Install the operating system on one hard disk, then reboot the computer.4. Run the Windows nForce Setup application and install the RAID driver.

5. Initialize the NVRAID Array.

Bootable RAID Array

1. Choose the hard disks that are to be RAID enabled in the system BIOS.

2. Specify the RAID level, either Mirroring (RAID 1), Striping (RAID 0), Mirrored Strip-

ing (RAID 0+1), Spanning (JBOD), or RAID 5 and create the desired RAID array.

3. Boot from the Windows CD, then press F6 when the Windows Setup appears.

4. Insert the RAID driver floppy to Install the nForce RAID driver.

5. Initialize the NVRAID Array.


7/30

5

Setting Up the BIOS

1. Start up the computer, then press Delete to enter the BIOS setup. Use the arrow

keys to select Integrated Peripheras, then press Enter,use the arrow keys to select

the IDE Function Setup,then press Enter.

2. Use the arrow keys to select the RAID Configuration, then press Enter.

3. From the RAID Configurationwindow,enabled the RAID Enable,the other items

would be light, then you can enable the disk that you want to use as RAID disk.

4. Press F10 to save the configuration and exit.


8/30

6

Entering the RAID BIOS Setup

1. After rebooting your PC, wait until you see the RAID software prompting you to

press F10. The RAID prompt appears as part of the system POST and boot process

prior to loading OS.

2. Press , and the NVIDIA RAID Utility --- Define a New Arraywindow will appear.

The default RAID Modeis set to Mirroringand the defaultStriping Blockis set to

Optimal.

Understanding the Define a New Array!Window

Use the Define a New Array window toSelect the RAID Mode

Set up the Striping Block

Specify which disks to use for the RAID Array

Depending on the platform used, the system have one or more channels. In a

typical system there are usually one controller and multiple channels, and each

channel have a slave and a master.

The channel/controller/master/slave status of each hard disk is given in the Loc

(location) columns of the Free Disks and Array Disks lists.

1. 0. M

M: MasterS: Slave

0: Channel

Adapter - adapter 0 is used for PATA drives

1 and above is used for SATA drives.


9/30

7

In the example above, 1.0.M means the hard drive is attached to Adapter 1,

Channel 0, and the drive is set to Master. The following is a list of all possible

combinations:

Parallel ATA

0.0.M Adapter 0, Channel 0, Master

0.0.S Adapter 0, Channel 0, Slave


0.1.S Adapter 0, Channel 1, Slave

Serial ATA


1.1.M Adapter 1, Channel 1, Slave


2.1.M Adapter 2, Channel 1, Slave

Note:There is no such thing as Slave drive in Serial ATA. All drives are consid-

ered to be Master since there is a one to one connection between the drive and

the contro ller.

Using the Define a New Array Window

If necessary, press the tab key to move from field to field until the appropriate field is

highlighted.

"Selecting the RAID Mode

By default, this is set to [Mirroring]. Change to a different RAID mode, press the

down arrow keys until the mode that you want appears in the RAID Mode box!

either [Mirroring], [Striping], [Spanning], [Stripe Mirroring],or [RAID 5] .

"Selecting the Striping Block Size

Striping Block size is given in kilobytes, and affects how data is arranged on the

disk. It is recommended to leave this value at the default [Optimal], which is 32KB,

but the values can be between [4 KB] and [128 KB].


10/30

8

"Assigning the Disks

The disks that you enabled from the RAID Config BIOS setup page appear in the

Free Disks block. These are the drives that are available for use as RAID array.

To designate a free disk to be used as a RAID array:

1. Tab to the Free Disks section. The first disk in the list is selected.

2. Move it from the Free Disks block to the Array Disks block by pressing the right

arrow key (*). The first disk in the list is moved, and the next disk in the list is

selected and ready to be moved.3. Continue pressing the right-arrow key (*) until all the disks that you want to use

as RAID array appear in the Array Disks block.

Completing the RAID BIOS Setup

1. After assigning your RAID array mode, press F7. The Clear disk data windows

prompt appears.

It shows that two disks have been assigned as RAID1 array disks in the figure

above.


11/30

9

2. PressY if you want to wipe out all the data from the RAID array, otherwise press

N. You must chooseYes if the drives were previously used as RAID drives.

The Array List window appears, where you can review the RAID arrays that you

have set up.

3. Use the arrow keys to select the array that you want to set up, then press Enter.

The Array Detail window appears.

4. If you want to mark this disk as empty and wipe out all its contents then press C.

5. At the prompt, pressY to wipe out all the data, otherwise press N.

6. Press Enter again to go back to the previous window and then press [Ctrl+X] to

exit the RAID setup.


12/30

10

2. Select the modules that you want to install. Select the relative options that you

have configured.

3. Click Next and then follow the instructions.

4. After the installation is completed, be sure to reboot the PC.

5. After the reboot, initialize the newly created array.

Installing the NVIDIA RAID Software Under Windows (for Non-bootable RAID Array)

This section describes how to setup the application and install the RAID software

which will upgrade the Windows IDE driver and install the RAID driver.

1. Start the nForce Setup program to open the NVIDIA Windows nForce Drivers

page.

NVIDIA RAID Utility Installation


13/30

11

Installing the RAID Driver (for bootable RAID Array)

1. After you complete the RAID BIOS setup, boot from the Windows CD, and the

Windows Setup program starts.

2. Press F6 and wait for the Windows Setup screen to appear.

3. Specify the NVIDIA drivers:

(1) Insert the floppy that has the RAID driver, press S, then press Enter. The Win-

dows Setup screen appears as below:

(2) Select #NVIDIA RAID CLASS DRIVER(required)$and then press Enter.

(3) Press S again at the Specify Devices (required) screen, then press Enter.

(4) Select #NVIDIA NForce Storage Controller$and then press Enter. The following

Windows Setup screen appears listing both drivers:


14/30

12

4. Press Enter to continue with operating system Installation. Be sure to copy the

files from the floppy is complete, then take out the floppy.

5. Follow the instructions on how to install operating system. During the GUI portion

of the installation you might be prompted to click Yes to install the RAID driver. Click

Yes as many times as needed in order to finish the installation. This will not be an

issue with a signed driver.

Note:Each time you add a new hard drive to a RAID array, the RAID driver will have

to be installed under Windows once for that hard drive. After that, the driver will not

have to be installed.


15/30

13

Initializing and Using the Disk Array

The RAID array is now ready to be initialized under Windows.

1. Launch Computer Management by clicking #Start$*#Settings$*#Control

Panel$then open the #Administrative Tools$folder and double click on #Computer

Management$.

The actual disks listed will depend on your system, and the unallocated partition is

the total combined storage of two hard disks. You must format the unallocated disk

space in order to use it.

3. Format the unlocated disk space. Right click #Unallocated space$, select #New

Partition%$and follow the wizard. After the drive has been formatted, it is ready for

use.

2. Follow screen instructions to install. While finished, the #Computer Manage-

ment$window appears.


16/30

14

Using The NVRAIDMAN Utility

About the NVIDIA RAID Management Utility

The NVIDIA RAID software ships with an application called NVRAIDMAN. This

chapter describes the NVRAIDMAN tasks in the following sections:

Viewing RAID Array Configurations

View an array configuration (mirrored, striped, mirrored-striped, JBOD, or

any supported combination)

Setting Up a Spare RAID Disk View free and/or dedicated free disks

Designate a free disk to a particular array

Rebuilding a RAID Array

Rebuild a broken mirrored array

Watch the progress of rebuilding of an array

Viewing RAID Array Configurations

To view your RAID configuration from Windows, launch the NVIDIA RAID Manage-

ment utility by double-clicking NVRAIDMAN that in the driver cd.

The RAID configuration information appears in the right-side pane, as shown in

following picture:


17/30

15

Setting Up a Spare RAID Disk

You can designate a hard drive to be used as a spare drive for a RAID 1 or RAID

0+1 array2. The spare drive can take over for a failed disk. NVIDIA RAID supports

two types of spare drives:

Free Disk

A free disk is a disk that is not part of any RAID array, but can be used by any

available RAID 1 or RAID 0+1 array that requires a particular disk when one of itsdisks crashes or becomes unusable. The process is automatic and doesn "t

require any user interaction.

For example, if you have a system with four hard disks where one disk is used

to boot the OS, two hard drives are set up in a mirrored array, and a fourth hard

disk is set up as a free disk, then if one of the mirrored array drives fails, the free

disk will be automatically assigned to the mirrored array to be used instead of

the failed disk.

Dedicated Disk

A dedicated free disk is a disk that is assigned to a RAID 1 or RAID 0+1 array and

that disk is used by that array only when needed, for example during a systemcrash where a RAID mirrored drive is broken. The dedicated disk can be used

only by the array that it is assigned to and not by any other array, unlike a free

disk which can be used by any available RAID 1 or RAID 0+1 array.

Note:You must have at least two RAID arrays to use this feature.


18/30

16

Assigning a Free Disk

To mark a disk as free, or not a part of any array,

1. Enter the system BIOS setup and make sure that the drive that you want to mark

as free is RAID enabled.

2. Enter the RAID BIOS and make sure that the drive is not part of any array (if one

exists).

3. Boot into Windows and run the NVRAIDMAN program. The drive appears under

the Free Disk section.

Assigning a Dedicated Disk

To mark a disk as dedicated, or reserve it for use by a specific array, you must have

at least one free disk and you must also have at least two RAID 1 or RAID 0+1 arrays

created. In this example, there are four SATA drives and two PATA drives which are

RAID enabled. Four SATA drives are used to create two mirrored arrays, while two

PATA drives are used as free disks.

Step 1: Mark the Disk as a Free Disk

1. Enter the system BIOS setup and make sure that the drive that you want to mark

as free is RAID enabled.2. Boot into Windows and run the NVRAIDMAN program. If the disk is not part of any

RAID array, then it will appear under the Free Disk section of the RAID GUI.


19/30

17

Step 2: Dedicate the Free Disk to an Array

While running NVRAIDMAN, dedicate a free disk to an array by doing the following:

1. Right click one of the available free disks under the Free Disk section.

2. Select Designate Spare from the menu to launch the Spare Disk Allocation Wizard.

3. Click Next. The RAID Array Selection page appears.

4. From the RAID Array Selection page, select one of the arrays from the list. This is

the array to which you want to allocate the dedicated free disk.

5. Click Next. The Completing the NVIDIA Spare Disk Allocation page appears.

6. Click Finish.

Removing a Dedicated Disk

Once a dedicated disk has been assigned to a particular array, it can be removed at

any time. To remove the disk, right click on the dedicated disk and select the option

to remove it.


20/30

18

Rebuilding a RAID Array

Rebuilding is the process of recovering data from one hard drive to another. All data

is copied from one hard drive to another and then the data is synchronized between

the two hard drives. This applies only to RAID 1 as well as a RAID 0+1 arrays.

Rebuilding Instructions

After creating a mirrored array, you can rebuild the array using the following steps:

1. Go to Windows and run the NVIDIA RAID Management utility. Below picture shows

an example of a system with one mirrored array and two free disks.

2. Right-click on Mirroring. The pop-up menu appears.

3. From the popup menu, click Rebuild Array. The NVIDIA Rebuild Array Wizard

appears.

4. Click Next. The Disk Selection page appears.

5. Select the drive that you want to rebuild by clicking it from the list, then click Next.

The Completing the NVIDIA Rebuild Array page appears.

6. Click Finish.

The array rebuilding starts after a few seconds, and a small pop-up message

appears towards the bottom right corner of the screen. When the rebuilding pro-

cess is finished you will see the pop up box.

During the rebuilding process, the NVIDIA RAID Management utility screen shows

the status under the System Tasks and Details sections.


21/30

19

More About Rebuilding Arrays

Rebuilding Occurs in the Background

The rebuilding process takes some time to complete, and occurs in the back-

ground so as not to affect the performance of the system.

Rebuilding Applies Only to RAID 1 or RAID 0+1 Arrays

Rebuilding an array works only when using RAID 1 and/or RAID 0+1. Rebuilding

does not apply to RAID 0 and JBOD arrays.

Rebuilding applies to a degraded fault tolerant arrayYou can rebuild a degraded mirrored array using any available Free Disk or Dedi-

cated Disk.

For example, below picture shows a mirrored array using two 34.48 GB drives while

having two Free Disks each 55.90 GB large.

To use one of these available free disks to rebuild your array, follow the same steps

as explained in #Rebuilding a RAID Array$except when prompted to select a disk,

choose one of the two available free disks.


22/30

20

In Windows 2000 (Service Pack 2 or previous versions), the end user cannot install

this operating system to a bootable RAID volume.

There are two solutions to resolve this issue.

I) Use the NVRAID Tool to convert the boot volume to a RAID array.

Here are the detailed step by step instructions:

1. Install Windows 2000 on a selected hard drive.

2. Download and install Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 from Microsoft"s website.

3. Reboot the system, press the DEL key as the system is rebooting to enter into the

system BIOS.

4. Select Integrated Peripherals*RAID Config.

5. Enable RAID Config for the selected drive (the one containing the Windows 2000

operating system). Then press F10 to exit and save settings in the system BIOS

(This action reboots the System).

6. Press F10 as the system is rebooting to go into the RAID ROM(The system

directs you into the NVIDIA RAID Utility).

7. Select Striping under RAID Mode.Press TAB to go into the Free Disk menu. You

can use the Right Arrow key to add the desired disk.

8. After that, Press F7 to finish. Select N (NO) when asked to Clear Disk Data.

9. Then Press Ctrl-X to exit. The system reboots into Windows 2000.

10. Install the NVIDIA nForce Driver Package while in Windows 2000. Then reboot

the system.

11. Go to START>Programs>NVIDIA Corporation and select NVRAID Manager.

You should see the single disk RAID array (in striping mode) that was created from

the boot disk.

12. Select the single boot disk RAID Array by clicking on it.

13. Select Convert Array under the System Tasks. The Convert Array wizard is

displayed. Then Select Next.

14. Select the desired type of RAID array you want to convert. Then Select Next.

Win2K Limitation with Bootable RAID


23/30

21

15. You are prompted to select the desired Free Disk(s) to add to the bootable RAID

array. Click Finish.

At this point, NVRAID starts converting the single disk RAID array into a multi-disk

RAID array in a bootable format.

Note: Conversion may take 1-2 hours depending on disk size.

II) The user must create a combination installation CD that includes Windows

2000 and SP3 or SP4 fixes integrated in. To create the combination installationCD, refer to the following website:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/downloads/servicepacks/sp4/HFdeploy.

htm

Note: If the end user chooses not to install Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 or 4, RAID

is still supported on Windows 2000. However, the end user will not be able to create

a bootable RAID volume.


24/30

22

SiIicon 3132 SATA RAID (optional)

1. Introduction

Silicon Image"s SATARaidTMprovides Serial ATA Software RAID including Strip-

ing and Mirroring to enhance the industry"s first proven PCI-to-SATA host con-

troller product. Two major challenges facing the storage industry today are keep-

ing pace with the increasing performance demands of computer systems by

improving disk I/O throughput and providing data accessibility in the face ofhard disk failures. With the SiI 3132 Serial ATA host controller and SATARaid,

both of these problems are solved.

RAID Striping greatly improves hard disk I/O performance by concurrently Strip-

ing data across multiple drives. RAID Mirroring enables users to enjoy the

confidence of data availability regardless of a single disk failure as data is

simultaneously written to two drives.

Standard with SATARaid software is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) that pro-

vides easy-to-use configurations for the different RAID Sets supported.

2. Creating and Deleting RAID Sets (SATA_5/SATA_6)Creating and deleting RAID sets is a function found in the Raid Configuration

Utility - Silicon Image. During booting up, the following message will appear,

pausing for a few moments to allow the user to choose what to do:

Press or F4 to enter RAID utility

An easy-to-use screen will appear with the following choices in the top left:

Create RAID Set

Delete RAID Set

Rebuild RAID Set

Resolve Conflicts

Low Level Format

Logical Drive Info


25/30

23

Below this will be listed the drives currently installed on the system.

The top right half of the screen displays directions and comments for the user.

The bottom right half lists the command keys:

Arrows up and down are Select Keys

ESC takes the user to the previous menu

Enter selects the user"s choice

Ctrl-E exits the utility.

Create RAID Groupis used to create a new legacy RAID Set or for allocating

legacy spare drives.

Delete RAID Groupis used to delete a legacy RAID Set or to deallocate a legacy

spare drive.

Rebuild RAID 1 Setis used to initiate the rebuild of a RAID 1 set after, for example,

a drive in the Group has been replaced.

Resolve Conflictsis used to automatically find the member drives of a RAID set

which has been disrupted (physical drives swapped around, for example) and

restore the Set to proper operation.

Low Level Formatallows a single drive to have its data completely wiped out.Drives assigned to Sets or allocated as spares cannot be low level formatted.

Logical Drive Infoshows the current configuration of each RAID set, allocated

spare, and unallocated physical drive attached to the SATA host adapter.


26/30

24

Creating RAID Sets (SATA5/6):

During the Power-On Self Test (POST), press the and keys or

key simultaneously to enter the Raid Configuration Utility - Silicon Image. The

following screen menu appears.

1. Switch the highlight bar to the Create RAID setand press the key to

create RAID set.

2. Switch the highlight bar to the Striped/Mirroredand press the key tocreate RAID 0/1.


27/30

25

3.Select if you want the utility to Auto Configure the RAID Set or if you want to

manually configure the RAID Set. For Striped Sets, you can change the chunk

size. For Mirrored Sets, you assign which is the Source and Target drives, as

well as if you want Disk Copy.

What is Disk Copy?If the disk assigned as the source disk already has been

partitioned and has data stored on it, and then a second disk is added for

redundancy, the data on the source drive can be copied to the destination

drive, so the disks are identical, and all subsequent data will be written to

both drives as a Mirrored set. If, however, the source disk does not have data

already stored on it, there is no need for Disk Copy.

4. The utility will ask #Are You Sure?$before completing the configuration.

5. Press the key then will creat the Raid.


28/30

26

Deleting RAID set:

1. To remove one or more RAID sets select Delete RAID setand press the

key.

2. Select desired set and press Y when asked #Are You Sure?$


29/30

27

Resolving Conflict

When a RAID set is created, the metadata written to the disk includes drive

connection information (Primary Channel, Secondary Channel). If, after a disk

failure, the replacement disk was previously part of a RAID set (or used in

another system), it may have conflicting metadata, specifically in reference to

the drive connection information. If so, this will prohibit the RAID set from being

either created or rebuilt,

In order for the RAID set to function properly, this old metadata must be first

overwritten with the new metadata. To resolve this, select #Resolve Conflict$

and the correct metadata, including the correct drive connection information,

will be written to the replacement disk.

Low Level Format

Selecting this item will format your hard disk.


30/30

28

3. Install Windows 2000/XP with RAID

1. Setup the desired RAID mode in BIOS setup.

2. Insert a WinXP installation CD.

3. Press the when the following words appear in screen:

Press F6 if you need to install a third party SCSI or RAID driver...

4. Insert the previous floppy disk (RAID driver installation disk).

5. Press to continue.

6. Press to continue.

4. Install RAID Driver

When you finish installing Operation System with RAID, in order to enable RAID

function, you need to install RAID Driver. Pls refer to Chapter 4 of motherboard

user manaul for installation steps.

nf4sli7aa raid manual v1.0

Documents